This morning my alarm went off at 7am. Forty minutes later I managed to ease the sleeping baby back into bed and actually got up ๐ not the start to the day I’d had planned, but nevertheless we all made it out of the house and on to a train just over an hour later, to head to London for the afternoon.
The headline reason was to see Mirror Mirror , a preview screening before the release on DVD next week. My ulterior motive was to give the kids a special trip out before the Voldesports makes London a no go zone for the next however many weeks it is.
The film was excellent. I love Julia Roberts anyway, and it was great to see her indulging herself and playing up the evil character. Some great funny dialogue as well, and good twists on the tale, stealing a bit here and there from other fairytales as it went. Even Small enjoyed it and given it is, at its core, a romance, that is really saying something. The scary bits weren’t too scary for Smallest, though the beast sequences were touch and go, and I was pleased to see the plucky heroine didn’t require any bloke to swoop in and save the day. Also rather pleased to have the bloke in question acknowledge that fact.
Lots of extra little plot points for discussion, a film that would bear revisiting I think.
And as for London? Bakingly hot and not nearly as busy as I expected. We managed all our tube traipsing with only one moment of pure terror when Small contrived to get his trainer stuck in the escalator, nearly causing a mass pile up with me and the two little ones on top of him. And breathe.
I do hope, when my children think back, they will remember days out like this. Treats that also hopefully give them confidence and skill. So they become aware of how to navigate a strange city, how to travel with many offspring, and above all else, that if you want to do it, you can. I was surprised as to how many ppl, including complete strangers, expressed admiration as to how brave I was to venture forth alone with four children, I guess I’ve my mother’s example to be grateful for there. I don’t remember anything ever really stopping her when we were young.
Back to today. We took the decision to head for home on the early train and given how exhausted they all were, it was the right decision. Also meant I got to spend half an hour in the garden with some children and a camera. Some interesting results, which I’ll share with you just as soon as I find a card reader ๐
And there you go. That was Monday.